EUROCONTROL has confirmed it will participate in 21 of the 42 selected projects from the 2025 Digital European Sky Call for the next phase of the SESAR programme, coordinating five industrial research projects and one exploratory research project while contributing to 13 industrial research and two exploratory research projects.
The European Union has allocated €254m in funding for the call, with €230m designated for industrial research, and the projects will launch from mid-2026 and run until 2029. The six EUROCONTROL-led initiatives address key challenges including trajectory-based operations, network resilience, greener trajectories, integration of drones and higher-altitude operations, and the development of new digital flight rules.
The projects leverage EUROCONTROL’s Innovation Hub expertise alongside capabilities in sustainability, aviation intelligence, civil-military coordination, air traffic management architecture, performance, and the Network Manager’s operational experience. Collaboration involves air navigation service providers, airports, airlines, higher altitude platform systems operators, research entities, academia, and industry to advance modernisation goals. The outcomes support the transition to a green, climate-neutral, and digital Europe while strengthening European aviation competitiveness.
Raúl Medina shared “Our new Trajectory 2030 strategy places innovation among EUROCONTROL’s top priorities, and we are delighted at the results of the call, which reflect the confidence of the European Commission and the SESAR Joint Undertaking in our expertise.”
